Automatic fly reel



Sept. 2, 1952 E. T. VAN SCIVER ET AL 2,609,160

AUTOMATIC FLY REEL Filed Nov. 28, 1950 2 SHEETSSHEET 1 Sept. 2, 1952 Filed Nov. 28, 1950 E. T. VAN SCH/ER ET AL AUTOMATIC FLY REEL 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Patented Sept. 2, 1952 2,609,166 g a in AUTOMATIC FLYREEL Earl T. Van Sciver, 'Glenside', .,w s 1e .i. Van Sciver, Palo Alto, Calif; and Edwin P. Van Sciver, Philadelphia, Pa., assignors -to Ocean City 'Mfg. 00., Philadelphia; Pa. a corporation of Pennsylvania.

Appiication November 28,195.0 ,sw mwear 3 1 'Ihis invention relates to. automatic flyv reels and more particularly to an improved compact construction for such a reel whereby limited manual operation is combined with the'automatic feature. p Automatic fly reels are characterized by th provision of a main drive spring which is connected to the spool of the reel in such a way that the fisherman is enabled to retrieve all or a substantial part of his line merely by means of the spring. Reels of this typehave heretofore been intricate; expensive, and have not incorporated desirable manual control features. The present invention overcomes these disadvantages by locating the main drive spring and its associated structure within the space enclosed by the hub of the spool. This permits the spool to be quickly detached from the reel for 6 Claims. (CI. 24 2-84.3)"

cleaning and also to permit a fisherman to quickly exchange fishing lines by meansof a plurality of preloaded spools. v

A primary object of the invention therefore, is to provide. a combinationautomatic reel .in which the main drive spring is anchored to a stationary housing. contained within the hub of the spool. V Y

A further object of the. invention is to provide animproved spool for an automatic reel whichis,

.alsin'iple, effective governor for controlling the take-upof an automatic fly reel.

A..still further object of the invention is toprovide suitable overload slip mechanisms for the main dri vespring to permit completemanual turning of the spool in either direction.

Further objects will be apparent from. the

specification anddrawings in which;

Fig; 1 is a transverse section through an automatic fishing reel constructedin accordance with the invention;

. ;Fig-, z-isa longitudinal sectional detail as seen tail-.2 of Fi 1;

:Fig; .3- is a longitudinal sectional detail as seen at;3 3 of -Fig. 1; ,1 v

' Fig. is-a.longitudinalsectionon a'reduced :scalezasiseen atl-A of Fig. 1;

I 5 is a left side view ofthe reel as installed on: a :fishing rod;

Fig. dis a right side view ofthe reel asinstalled on a fishing rod;

7"is' an enlarged sectional detail-of the brake assembly as seen at 1- of Fig. 6;

Fig.3-10. are perspectives showing details of theclutch assembly of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 11 is'a perspective of the drive shaft and its associated gears.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, a preferred embodiment of our improved fishing reel comprises a case It which may be formed of a synthetic plastic material and to which a conventional stand H is attached by means of screws l2, l2. Automatic fly reels are customarily hung from the bottom of the fishing rod and to the rear of the hand grip. The fisher man then can conveniently operate the brake release lever l3 by means of his little finger.

The spool assembly l5 comprises a slightly dished side flange. [5a and a hub l5'b which is formed'integrally with the opposite annular side flange I50. Hub [5b is. secured to flange Ilia by studs [6, IS on which the knobs H, I! are journaled. It will be understood that the .spool I5 is rotatable in case It and that a suitable aperture I8 is provided in the housing through which the fishing line (not shown) is threaded. Aperture is is conveniently provided with. a metallic grommet l9 secured to the case by means of screws 20; 20. I

Spool l5 isrotatably mounted onwclutch hub 2| which is provided with an annular flange 21a against which the spool is compressed by means of clutch nut 22, a belleville-type washer 23, and clutch friction asher 24 and 25. The adjustment of nut 22 controls the torque at which the spool l5 will turn independently of hub 2|.

The spool and clutch assemblies are carried on a central pinion shaft 26 which is journaled in a stationary sleeve 21 secured in case [0 by means of the internal threads 28 on brake housing 29. One end of shaft 26 is provided with a pinion gear 30 which is tapered to provide a jam fit with the internal tapered bore of hub 21. Jam screw 3! which is retained inhub 2 I, permits the spool andclutch assembly to be readily detached from shaft 26.

The main driving spring 35 is contained in the stationary spring housing 36 located entirely within the hub |5b of the spool. The outerend of spring 35 is anchored on rivet 31 in housing 36 and the inner end of the spring is engaged by the tongue 38 formed on a helical contracting spring 39. Spring 39 surrounds and unidirectionally connects main spring 35 to a 'tubular thereto at one end. Arm 4| carries a dual gear 3 42, one face 42a of which meshes with gear 30 on shaft 26 and the other face 42b meshes with a ring gear 43 secured in the open end of spring housing 36.

It will thus be apparent that when spool 15 is turned manually by means of knobs l1, l1, shaft 26 likewise turns provided the resistance of spring 35 is insuflicient to cause the clutch washers 24 and 25 to slip on the lateral face of the spool. knobs l1, I! are turned in a clockwise direction (as seen in Figs. 4 and 5) shaft 40 likewise turns in a clockwise direction but at a reduced speed. I

This winds up or loads the main driving spring 35. If however, spool I5 is turned in the D- 'posite or counterclockwise direction (as seen in It will be understood that when .lb of spooll5 by raisingbrake release lever l3 to release brake spring 55 and turningjspool I5 in a counterclockwise direction, as seen in Fig. 5. When the line has been completely wound on the spool, the brake lever is permitted to turn until it abuts stop 66 due to the action of fly permitting it to slip on shaft 40 thereby avoiding reverse winding of the main drive spring 35.

A centrifugal friction governor is incorporated with spool I5. so that the rate of wind as caused by spring 35, may be controlled. For this purpose, we provide an annular lining 44 around the inner periphery of spring housing 36and axially beyond the ring gear 43. Lining 44 is conveniently secured to the housing at notches 45,- 45. Two centrifugal governor shoes 46 and 41 are pivotally mountedto the inner side face of spool l5 by means ofheaded studs 48, 4B. The shoes are urged radially inward by means of fly springs49, 49 against stops 50, 50. It Will be understood that the tension of springs 49, 49 may beso controlled that when the spool turns above a predetermined speed, the shoes 46 and 4'! fly radially outward to contact the lining44 and thus retard the speed of thelspool.

The energy stored in main spring 35 is retained by means of a locking assembly associated with the end of pinion shaft 26 opposite the clutch previously described; Shaft 26 is conveniently provided with one or more thrust washers 5|, 5| and the shaft extends into the bore of brake housing 29. A small brake drum 52 having a flattened bore 53 is non-rotatably held on the end of shaft 26 by means of nut 54. A helical contracting brake spring 55 is wound around drum 52in such a manner that one end 56 of the spring is seated in a notch 51 of brake housing 29. The other end 58 of spring 55, is permitted'sl ight rotational movementinthewider notch 59 of the housing 29." Since the spring 55 is wound in a counterclockwise or left-hand manneron drum 52 (Fig. 3), it will'be noted that lanyclockwise turning of shaft 26' and drum'52 is automatically locked by contraction of spring 55 and retention of the spring from turning by means of the control of spring end.56. In thisway the'energy .stored in spring 35 due to counterclockwise turn- ;ing of shaft 26, may be stored;

'When the fisherman desires to wind in line, he 'can release completely or momentarily, the spring 555 so that the energy in spring 35gis imparted to .SpOOl to cause it to turn counterclockwisa' as :seen in Figs. 4 and 5. This is accomplished by raising brake release arm l3 against the tension of fly spring 60 so that the notch 6! onbrake :arm retaining collar 62 contacts the long spring arm 58 and turns it in a counterclockwisedirection sufficiently to expand spring 55fthi1s per- P spring 60.

In accordance with the usual manner of using an automatic fly reel, line may be stripped off the reel by the fisherman as desired. This automatically winds the main driving spring 35 and should the spring become completely wound up, the spool I5 still turns due to slipping of the clutch. Once energy is stored in the spring, line may be automatically wound on the spool simply by raising the lever 13 Which releases brake and permits thespring to turn the spool counterclockwise as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. l r I It will thus be apparent that we have-provided an extremely simple and efficient automatic fly casting reel. This reel may be manuallyoperated and the construction of the spring, clutch, and brake mechanisms permits quick-interchange of spools and facilitates dis-assembly-and cleaning.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. A combination manual and automatic -fly reel, comprising-acase open at one side, means for attaching said case to a fishing rod, a stationary sleeve centrally mounted in one sideof said case, a drive shaft journaled onsaid sleeve, a stationary spring housing mounted in one side'of said case, a maindrive spring in said housing having one end secured to the housing and the other end secured to the drive shaft, a pinion shaft'journaled in the bore of said sleeve, a clutch hub detachably secured to one end of said pinion shaft, a spool mounted on said'clutch hub, a friction driving connection between said spool and said hub, driving connections between; the pinion shaft and the drive shaft, said clutch and driving connections being operatively arranged to wind the drive'spring on the drive shaft to store energy in the spring 'whenthe spool is turned, and braking means operatively associated with the other end 'ofsaid iinionshaftfor locking the pinion shaftand spool againstthe energy stored in the spring.

2. A combination manual and automatic fiy reel, comprising a case open at one side; means for attaching said case to-a fishing rod, a stationary sleeve centrally mounted in one side-of said case, a driveshaft journaled on said'sleeve, a stationary spring housing mounted in one side of said case, a main drive spring in said housing having one end secured to the housing and the other end connected to drive shaft, aunidirectional contracting spring enclosing the drive shaft and secured to the main drivespring, a pinion shaft journaled in the bore of said sleeve, a clutch hub detachably secured to one end of said'pinion shaft, a spool mounted on said clutch hub, a friction driving connection between said spool and said hub, driving connections between the pinion shaft and the drive shaft, saidclutch' and-driving connections being operativelylarranged to wind the drive spring on the drive-shaft to store energy in the spring. when the spool is turned, and braking means operatively associated with the other end of said pinion shaft-for locking the pinion shaft and spool against the energy stored in the spring.

3. A combination manual and automatic fly reel, comprising a case open at one side, means for attaching said case to a fishing rod, a stationary sleeve centrally mounted in one side of said case, a drive shaft journaled on said sleeve, a stationary spring housing mounted in one side of said case, a main drive spring in said housing having one end secured to the housing and the other end secured to the drive shaft, a pinion shaft journaled in the bore of said sleeve, a clutch hub detachably secured to one end of said pinion shaft, a spool mounted on said clutch hub, a friction driving connection between said spool and said hub, driving connections between the pinion shaft and the drive shaft, said clutch and driving connections being operatively arranged to wind the drive spring on the drive shaft to store energy in the spring when the spool is turned, a centrifugal governor on the spool for controlling the rate of take-up of the spool, and braking means operatively associated with the other end of said pinion shaft for locking the pinion shaft and spool against the energy stored in the spring.

4. A combination manual and automatic fly reel, comprising a case open at one side, means for attachin said case to a fishing rod, a stationary sleeve centrally mounted in one side of said case, a drive shaft journaled on said sleeve, a stationary spring housing mounted in one side of said case, a main drive spring in said housing having one end secured to the housing and the other end secured to the drive shaft, a pinion shaft journaled in the bore of said sleeve. a clutch hub detachably secured to one end of said pinion shaft, a spool mounted on said clutch hub, a friction driving connection between said spool and said hub, driving connections between the pinion shaft and the drive shaft, said clutch and driving connections being operatively arranged to wind the drive spring on the drive shaft to store energy in the spring when the spool is turned, a brake drum non-rotatably mounted on the other end of said pinion shaft, a helical contracting brake spring surrounding said brake drum, an anchor on the case whereby he pinion shaft is permitted to turn in only one direction, and means for releasing said brake spring.

5. A combination manual and automatic fly reel, comprising a case open at one side, means for attaching said case to a fishing rod, a stationary sleeve centrally mounted in one side of said case, a drive shaft j ournaled on said sleeve, a stationary spring housing mounted in one side of said case, a main drive spring in said housing having one end secured to the housing and the other end secured to the drive shaft, a pinion shaft journaled in the bore of said sleeve, a clutch hub detachably secured to one end of said pinion shaft, a spool mounted on said clutch hub, a friction driving connection between said spool and said hub, an arm integrally mounted on the drive shaft, 2. dual gear journaled at one end of said arm, a ring gear non-rotatably secured in the housing in alignment with one face of said dual gear, a pinion gear on the pinion shaft in alignment with the other face of the dual gear whereby rotation of the pinion shaft turns the drive shaft at a reduced speed due to meshing of the respective faces of the dual gear with the pinion gear and ring gear, said clutch and driving connections being operatively arranged to wind the drive spring on the drive shaft to store energy in the spring when the spool is turned,

and braking means operatively associated with i the other end of said pinion shaft for locking the pinion shaft and spool against the energy stored in the spring.

6'. A combination manual and automatic fly reel, comprising a case open at one side, means for attaching said case to a fishing rod, a stationary sleeve centrally mounted in one side of said case, a drive shaft journaled on said sleeve, a stationary spring housing mounted in one side of said case, a main drive spring in said housing having one end secured to the housing and the other end connected to the drive shaft, a unidirectional contracting spring enclosing the drive shaft and secured to the main drive spring, a pinion shaft journaled in the bore of said sleeve, a clutch hub detachably secured to one end of said pinion shaft, a spool mounted on said clutch hub, a friction driving connection between said spool and said hub, an arm integrally mounted on the drive shaft, a dual gear journaled at one end of said arm, a ring gear non-rotatably secured in the housing in alignment with one face of said dual gear, a pinion gear on the pinion shaft in alignment with the other face of the dual gear whereby rotation of the pinion shaft turns the drive shaft at a reduced speed due to meshing of the respective faces of the dual gear with the pinion gear and ring gear, said clutch and driving connections being operatively arranged to wind the drive spring on the drive shaft to store energy in the spring when the spool is turned, a centrifugal governor on the spool for controlling the rate of take-up of the spool, a brake drum non-rotatably mounted on the other end of said pinion shaft, a helical contracting brake spring surrounding said brake drum, an anchor on the case whereby the pinion shaft is permitted to turn in only one direction, and means for releasing said brake spring.

EARL T. VAN SCIVEZR. WESLEY J. VAN SCIVER. EDWIN P. VAN SCIVER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 520,517 Corbin May 29, 1894 1,560,919 Unruh Nov. 10, 1925 2,055,448 Adams Sept. 22, 1936 2,220,017 Maynes Oct. 29, 1940 2,328,672 Quear Sept. 7, 1943 

